Blood tests for weight loss

This might be why you are not losing weight…

Are you one of the people who tried everything to lose some weight and nothing is working? Is your weight fixed or keeps increasing even though you’re making an effort toward a healthy lifestyle? Here you’ll know why >>> There are 5 main blood tests you need to do to determine the problem of weight loss difficulty.

1. Thyroid gland

The thyroid gland is known to be extremely important for metabolism regulation. It is located in the base of the neck and releases 2 hormones that play vital roles in various body functions. Including breathing, heart rate, muscle strength, body temperature, cholesterol level, and weight status.

The thyroid gland produces 2 hormones, T3 and T4, and both promote the body’s energy expenditure, meaning energy, and regulate food intake and glucose and lipid metabolism.

The gland interacts with the brain as this interaction is the one responsible for the release of thyroid hormones. Simply speaking, the brain releases a hormone called TRH. This hormone is released to the thyroid gland to initiate the production and the release of thyroid hormones, depending on the body’s overall status. When the blood has low T3 and T4, the brain sends a signal via TRH telling the thyroid gland to produce more hormones to achieve balance. AND VICE VERSA…

But how it impacts the weight??

As mentioned above, thyroid hormone helps the body to use energy and they are essential for metabolism. In addition, Thyroid hormones increase beta receptors activity on the fat cells “Read more in Stubborn fats“. Then it is for sure going to impact the weight status. Therefore, it is highly important to test the function of your thyroid gland and the levels of the thyroid hormones, before following any diet plan… It could worsen your health status…

It has been found that those with low thyroid hormone levels, expend little energy. That means the burning process happens at a slow pace. feeling fatigued and lazy to move. Which eventually leads to weight gain. This condition is called Hypothyroidism. weight loss in this state is hard and fixing the hormone levels first should be a priority before anything.

High levels of thyroid hormones are not a common condition. It is called Hyperthyroidism. and weight loss results.

2. Insulin resistance

An extremely important test you should take is the test to determine if you are resistant to insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is responsible for maintaining blood sugars. It works like a key for sugar to enter cells for burning and energy synthesis. However, when things get out of control due to over-consumption of sugar and carbohydrates, defects result.

As already mentioned in previous posts, insulin favors fat storage. And if cells become resistant to insulin due to excess weight, inactivity…etc, it means cells no longer respond to insulin, so both insulin and sugar levels in the blood will elevate…leading to weight gain, and more. Abnormalities in the body’s metabolism are developed, making losing any gain difficult unless you treat the original problem and in this case, insulin resistance.

3. Iron

Another blood test to run is Iron levels. Iron is an extremely essential mineral. It is required for blood, maintaining immune system health and cognitive function. deficiency in this mineral is common. and can be noted by the dominance of tiredness and lack of energy in a lot of individuals. Iron deficiency slows down metabolism, the process of burning nutrients to receive energy, by inhibiting “oxygen flow to muscle and tissues”.

Most importantly, iron is essential for thyroid function. Low levels of iron results in underactive thyroid function, which leads to fatigue and low metabolism. As a consequence, weight gain and other abnormalities.

Moreover, abnormalities in thyroid function can disturb the production of red blood cells. Which in turn, impacts iron availability. Resulting in anemia, slow metabolism, and fatigue… All of which make losing weight difficult.

4. Vitamin D

Many people globally are deficient in this important vitamin. Even though, the primary source is sunlight. And it is abundant!!! However, due to inactivity, staying indoors most of the time, and sunscreen, vitamin D deficiency becomes common.

Vitamin D deficiency is linked to many diseases and abnormalities. Hair loss, weak bones, depression, sickness… and more. It also plays a role in weight gain. If you’re struggling with weight loss, there’s a very good chance you’re also struggling to store adequate amounts of vitamin D in your body. However, vitamin D deficiency and weight gain are still questionable.

Anyhow, this vitamin found to have an impact on the production, storage, and usage of fats. Studies have confirmed that increasing vitamin D intake led to a decrease in body fat percentage. Therefore, it can indeed improve your likelihood of losing weight and decreasing body/belly fat.

Vitamin D is known to affect other hormones that promote burning processes. This is further explained in the next heading…

5. Other hormones

Hormones in general are the key to understanding whether you can lose weight easily or not. Any difficulty means an imbalance in hormone levels. And a lot have an impact on metabolism and burning activity.

Continuing on the relationship between Vitamin D levels and weight. It is explained by its impact on a number of hormones like testosterone and serotonin. Testosterone is a sex hormone known to reduce body fat which as result promotes weight loss. Serotonin is known as the happy hormone. It also plays a role in other functions including digestion, appetite… etc. Normal levels of vitamin D mean normal levels of both hormones that regulate appetite and decrease body fats.

Estrogen is a female sex hormone that needs to be tested. This hormone favors fat storage, which explains why women normally gain weight easily compared to men. However, abnormal levels of it lead to abnormal metabolism, whether it is high or low. As estrogen plays a role in cholesterol, glucose metabolism as well as insulin sensitivity. All of which make losing weight difficult.

Other hormones include leptin, ghrelin (appetite & hunger hormones), inflammatory factors, stress hormones, and more… Any abnormality in hormonal balance leads to difficulty in losing weight.

In Sum,

What makes losing weight difficult is the abnormalities in hormones. if your inside isn’t balanced and under control, there definitely going to be difficulty in maintaining weight or losing it. Over and above that, your health status will deteriorate. Therefore, running blood tests to ensure that everything is under control is needed. And by the way, any deficiency or imbalances in your balance will be sensed by simple signs like frequent headaches, fatigue, and laziness… those are pretty common and then clearly your body is signaling that something is off and action is required.

References:

• https://www.thyroid.org/thyroid-and-weight/
• https://www.webmd.com/women/ss/slideshow-thyroid-symptoms-and-solutions#:~:text=An%20unexplained%20change%20in%20weight,This%20is%20known%20as%20hyperthyroidism.
• https://www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/thyroid-nodules/thyroid-gland-controls-bodys-metabolism-how-it-works-symptoms-hyperthyroi
• https://www.scripps.org/news_items/4621-can-insulin-resistance-cause-weight-gain#:~:text=If%20your%20cells%20become%20too,excess%20blood%20sugar%20as%20fat.
• Wilcox, G. (2005). Insulin and Insulin Resistance. Clinical Biochemist Reviews, 26(2), 19-39. https://doi.org/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1204764/
• https://www.imaware.health/blog/vitamin-d-and-weight
• https://obgynal.com/symptoms-of-low-vitamin-d/#:~:text=Vitamin%20D%20deficiency%20is%20linked,vitamin%20D%20in%20your%20body.
• https://globalrph.com/2019/10/iron-deficiency-anemia-signs-therapeutic-options/#:~:text=Underactive%20thyroid%20gland%3A%20Iron%20is,of%20an%20underactive%20thyroid%20gland.
• https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/obesity-and-hormones

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